Temporary binder



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

W. LUMLEY.

TEMPORARY BINDER.

No. 432,537. Patented July 22, 1890.

(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

W. LUMLEY.

TEMPORARY BINDER.

Patented July 22, 1890.

I a spring-controlled file-holder actuated in such PATENT OFFICE.

\VILLIAM LUIWILEY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

TEM PORARY Bl N DER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent Nb. 432,537, dated July22,1890.

Application filed May 1, 1889. Serial No. 309,188. (No model.)

To all whmn it may concern.-

Be it known that I, WILLIAM LUMLEY, a citizen of the United States, anda resident of Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in TemporaryBinders,ofwhich the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in temporary binders for holdingletter-file indices conveniently for the ready insertion of letters,bills, and other matters during the continuous use of the file'andbefore the permanent storage thereof, but is more especially designed asan improvement upon the invention set forth'in the application forUnited States Letters Patent filed by me on the 18th day of October, A.D. 1887, Serial No.252,693, and allowed February 21, 1889, in which saidapplication was shown an d described, but not claimed, certain featureswhich will form the subject-matter of claims in this application.

The prime object of this invention is to have manner-thatit willyieldingly maintain the file and contents in position, and which will beautomatically but yieldingly locked in an elevated position clear of thefile and contents whenever it is desired to remove from or insert papersinto the file.

Another object is to combine with such a holder a frame adjustablethereon in such manner that it willautomatically adapt itself to thevariations in the surface of the tile due to the varying character ofthe papers therein.

A further object is to enable the holding of any number of index-sheetsby the holder when in an elevated position whenever itis desirable towithdraw any papers from the file, and to mark the place from which thepaper was Withdrawn when the holder is restored to its normal position.

Further objects are to have a binding-pin for the index-sheets of such acharacter as not only to maintain the sheets in proper po sition orpermit their removal therefrom when detached from the binder, but whichmay also be detachably held in the binder in such'mannet that. it may bereadily inserted into or removed from the same, and to have said pin ofsuch a character that it may not only be temporarily locked in position,but will also be self-guiding when inserted into the binder, whereby themanipulation thereof is materially simplified and facilitated.

I attain these objects by the devices illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings, in which- Figure 1 represents a perspective view of atemporary binder embodying my invention,

showing the holder down upon the indexsheets of the file in its normalposition; Fig. 2, an end elevation thereof with parts broken away, so asto more clearly show the construction, the dotted lines showing theholder in its elevated position; Fig. 3, a perspective View of thebinder, showing the holder in its elevated position with a portion ofthe indexsheets held thereby; Fig. 4, a detail perspective view of thebinding-pin; Fig. 5, a detail perspective view of a portion of thebinder, showing the manner of inserting the bindingpin in position andthe devices for locking the same and Fig. (3, an enlarged detailvertical section thereof.

Similar letters of reference indicate the same parts in the severalfigures of the drawings.

Referring by letter to the accompanying drawings, A indicates thebottom, B the ends, and G the back, of the usual form of binderframe inwhich the file is contained,the shape and dimensions of which, however,may va according to the requirements of the user.

Upon the bottom of the binder is laid the indezesheets D of the tile,provided with suitable lettered tags E at the front edge thereof, and atthe rear edge and about centrally of the length thereof with perforatedtags F, by means of which the index-sheets are held in the binder.Through the perforations in these tags projects a binding-pin G, theupper end of which is bent at a right angle, and

to the lower end of which, lying parallel with IOC back extending acrossthe lower end of the groove or else bymcans of a strip J, spanning thelower end thereof attached to the back, and of sut'ficient height toprevent the lower end of the pin carrying the plate ll from beingWithdrawn from the groove in a straight line; or, in other words,necessitating the lifting of the pin and plate before they can bewithdrawn. The upper angular end of the pin, by the insertion andguidingof the lower end thereof, as just described, into the groove, isturned toward the back of the binder, and when moved to a verticalposition enters a recess K in the back above the groove, in which it isheld bymeans of a sliding lock-plate L,working upon pins M projectingthrough slots N therein, one end of one of which has an oifset orangular portion O,which is designed to drop down behind the pin when theslide reaches the limit of its movement, and thus lock the same inposition, the slide beingcut away or notched, as shown at E,whiehnotched portion registers with the recess K in the back when the slideis in its first position ready for the insertion of the pin. Thus itwill be seen that the plate II upon the lower end of the binding-pin,which I may here state may be semicircular, square, or any otherdesirable configuratiomis inserted into the corresponding groove andsockcted at the bottom thereof. Its angnlarend is turned in position toregister with therecess provided for its reception in the back, andserves, by the direction in which it points, to indicate when the lowerend thereof is properly inserted in position, relieves the same ofstrain by preventing the twisting thereof in the socket, and likewiseprevents the accidental removal or slipping off of the index-sheets fromthe upper end thereof when the file is detached from the binder; or itmay be removed with the tile and serve to maintain the same in properposition during and even after the act of trans ferring the same to thepermanent hinder or storing-case. I may also state that so far asrelates to a means for locking this bindingpin in position when insertedin the binder any other form of locking device than the slide hereinshown and described might be employed without a material departure fromthe spirit of my invention, that form of lock being preferred onlybecause of its simplicity and convenient shape, occupying practically noroom upon the binder and offering no obstructions to the filing of thepapers orthe re moval of the file or any part thereof.

For the purpose of holding the indexes of the file smooth and flat inthe binder as the file becomes gradually filled, I employ a fileholderconsisting of a bail a, preferablycomposed of flat metal and ofsubstantially the width of the inside of the binder, the ends I) ofwhich are pivoted in plates 0, attached to the ends ll, behind which andon the inner faces of the ends are formed recesses (Z, (see Fig. 9,) inwhich work crank-arms e, rigidlysecured to the pivots of the bail, andcoiled springs f. oueend of each of which is attached to the free end ofsaid crank-arms, and theopposite ends thereof to the ends B, near thebottom of the recesses therein, or to the plate C. These crank-armsproject from the pivots at such an angle that when the bail is down inits normal position (shown in Fig. 2) the force of the spring is exertedthereon, so as to yieldingly maintain it in this depressed position,which force will continue to be exerted during the elevation of the bailuntil the crank-arms pass the dead-center through the pivots thereof andthepoint of attachment of the springs, when the springs pass to theopposite side of the center and will exert their ,torce thereon, tendingto draw the bail backwardly, which, being stopped in its rearwardmovement by the back C of the binder, is held by the springsyieldinglyin the elevated position shown by dotted lines in said figure.

To the cross-bar or central portion of the bail A is attached aholding-frame g, preferably rcctangular in shape, and having olfsetportions 7L passing through perforations in the bail, which olfsetportions, while they serve to pivot and permit the vibration of theframe upon the pivot so as to accommodate itself to the variations inthe surface of the file, due to the difference in the size and characterof the papers contained therein, at the same time prcventa rotation ofthe frame upon the bail, and thus insure the frame being brought downupon the paper in a proper position at all times without the necessityfor manipulation by hand. Another important feature of thisnon-rotatable but vibrating frame is that by the employment thereof I amenabled to provide means for holding up against the elevated tile-holderany number of the index-sheets and the letters therebetween whenever itis desired to remove orinsert any letters into the lower partof thefile, which feature,however, I may state primarily depends upon thelocking of the holding device in its elevated position. To this end Iemploy an elastic band 7., attached at its ends, respectively, to eyesj, formed in the frame g, or to pins 7:, attached directly to the bailnear each end thereof, which elastic band, while normally extendingacross the back of the holder and out of the way, may be stretched andthrown over to the front of the bail, so as to encompass and retainagainst the holder as many of the index-sheets as may be desired, asclearly illustrated in Fig. Thus whenever it is desired to remove anypapers temporarily from the lower part of the file the upperindex-sheets of thefile,with the letters contained therein, may belifted and held away from the lower sheets during the withdrawal orinsertion of the necessary paper, and, if desired, the separated andlifted sheets may be thrown down upon the lower sheets after beingsecured by the elastic band and during the temporary withdrawal of thedesired papers, because the elastic band or cord will serve to mark theplace in the file IOU . their letters or file them awayin the orderoftheir dates as well as alphabetically,because from which the paper wasextracted, and thus save the annoyance of running through the file tofind the proper place at whiohthe paper should be inserted.

This feature of my invention is of especial importance to large concernswhich number awithdrawn paper may be instantly returned to the properplacein the file without the loss of anytime whatever; but obviouslythis elastic holder could not be employed, except in connection with afile-holder of substantially the same character as that herein shownthatis to say, one in which the holder is firmly held when in an elevatedposition.

Having described my invention, what I claim, and-desire to securebyLetters Patent, 1s-

In a temporary hinder, the combination, with the back thereof providedwith a vertical groove and a recess-above and at right angles to saidgroove, of a binding-pin provided with a plate at the lower end thereof,

corresponding in shape and dimensions with said groove, and an angularportion at the upper end thereof, adapted and arranged to engage saidrecess, and a lock device for maintaining said pin in position,substantially as described.

2. In a temporary hinder, the combination, with the back provided with avertical groove terminating in a socket at the lower end thereof and arecess above and at right angles to said groove, of a binding-pinprovided with a plate at the lower end thereof, corresponding in shapeand dimensions with said groove, and an angular portion at the upper endadapted and arranged to engage said recess, and a slide having a notchtherein adapted and arranged to alternatelycover and uncover saidrecess, substantially as described.

3. In a temporary binder, the combination, with the back provided with avertical groove terminating in a socket at the lower end thereof and arecess above and at right angles to said groove, of a binding-pinprovided with a plate at the lower end thereof, corresponding in shapeand dimensions with said groove, and an angular portion at the upper endadapted and arranged to engage said recess, and a notched slide providedwith longitudinal slots, pins working through said slots,

and an offset from one of said slots by means of which the slide may belocked at the limit of 'its movement, substantially as described.

L. The combination, with a temporary binder, of a bail pivoted to saidbinder, crankarms on the pivots of said bail, and springs attached attheir ends, respectively, to said crank-arms and a stationary portion ofthe binder, substantially as and for the purpose described. 5. Thecombination, with a temporary binder, of a file-holder consisting of abail pivoted to said binder, crank-arms upon the pivots of said bail,springs attached at their ends, respectively, to said crank-arms and astationary portion of the binder, and an elastic band attached at itsends, respectively, to the opposite sides of said bail, substantially asand for the purpose described.

6. The combination, with a temporary binder, of a file-holder consistingof a bail pivoted to said binder, crank-arms on the pivots th ereof,springs attached at their ends,

respectively, to said crank-arms and a stationary portion of the binder,and a rectangular frame having angular offset portions passing throughand pivoting said frame upon the bail and constituting a stop forpreventing a rotation of saidframe, substantially as described.

7. The combination, with a temporary binder, of a file-holder consistingof a bail pivoted to said binder, crank-arms on the pivots thereof,springs attached at their ends, respectively, to said crank-arms and astationary portion of the binder, and a rectangular frame having angularolfsetportions passing through and pivoting said frame upon the bail andconstituting a stop for preventing a rotation of said frame, and anelastic band attached at its ends, respectively, to each side of saidframe, substantially as described.

8. In a temporary hinder, the combination, with a pivoted bail and meansfor holding same when elevated, of an elastic band attached at its ends,respectively, to the sides of said bail, substantially as described.

WILLIAM LUMLEY. \Vitnesses:

A \V. R. OMOHUNDRO,

A. M. BENNETT.

